| Mizzou Holiday Opener | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEET | LOCATION | DAY | TIME (CT) | MEDIA |
| Mizzou Holiday Opener | Hearnes Center | Saturday, Dec. 6 | 10:45 AM | |
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Track and Field will open its 2019-2020 indoor season on Friday, December 6 when they host the Mizzou Holiday Opener at the Hearnes Center Fieldhouse. More than 25 Tigers will be in action on Friday, including 14 who will be making their collegiate debut in the black and gold.
Field events are scheduled to begin at 10:45 a.m. CT, with track events scheduled to follow at 11:30 a.m. CT and will continue on a rolling schedule. Eight men's teams and six women's teams will be in competition on Friday, including Columbia College, Hannibal-LaGrange, Lincoln University (Men), Mineral Area College (Men), Missouri Baptist, Missouri Valley College, Missouri S&T and William Woods University.
To kick off the day on the men's side, redshirt senior Patrick Kunza (Wentzville, Mo.) will compete in the weight throw looking to improve on his second-place finish in the Missouri Holiday Opener last season. Kunza begins his final season of an impressive career at Mizzou as he has competed in three NCAA West Preliminaries in the hammer throw.
The women's weight throw will be highlighted by redshirt senior Jordan McClendon (Black Jack, Mo.) who earned a seventh-place finish at last season's NCAA Indoor Championships as she set a personal record in the weight throw. Her mark of 21.95m (72-0.25) moved her into second-place in program history.
Following the weight throw, redshirt junior Ja'Mari Ward (Cahokia, Ill.) will be making his season debut in the long jump. Ward currently holds the Mizzou indoor long jump record at 7.97m (26-1.75) and is coming off of a 2019 U.S. long jump title at the USATF Outdoor Championships. Ward earned first-team All-American status in the long jump during the 2018 season and finished eighth at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships last season. Ward will also run in the 60m dash on Friday.
Junior Jason Edwards (Eldon, Mo.) will kick off his 2019-20 indoor season by competing in the pole vault on Friday. Edwards earned both a first place finish and a personal record in the pole vault at the Missouri Intercollegiate with a mark of 4.65m (15-3. Edwards will also compete in the 60 meter hurdles on Friday. To wrap up the field events, Mizzou sophomore Arianna Fisher (San Jose, Ca.) will highlight the women's triple jump. Fisher won last year's competition by setting a school record with a leap of of 12.68m (41-7.25). In the men's triple jump, sophomore Georgi Nachev will also look to defend his title from last year's competition.
In track events, Mizzou senior Faramola Shonekan (Columbia, Mo.) will be one of three Tigers in the women's 600m Dash and will look to match her victory in last year's Missouri Holiday Opener. On the men's side, senior Caulin Graves (Kansas City, Mo.) and junior Nylo Clarke (Riverside, Mo.) will hit the track in the 60m Dash. Along with Ward, Graves and Clarke have both made NCAA West Preliminary appearances and look to lead a strong group of Mizzou sprinters in the opening meet of the season. Meanwhile, in the men's 200m Dash, Jayson Ashford will highlight the Tigers lineup after posting a personal-best time of 21.34 at the SEC Indoor Championships last season. Ashford's mark ranked third in program history.
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouTFXC).
Teams Competing at the Missouri Holiday Opener
Columbia College, Hannibal-LaGrange, Lincoln University (Men), Mineral Area College (Men), Missouri Baptist, Missouri Valley College, Missouri S&T, William Woods University
Mizzou Entries – Field Events (Starts at 11:30 a.m. CT)
Weight Throw, Men – Jason Petko, Derek Parker, Ethan Hanson, Patrick Kunza
Weight Throw, Women – Jordan Speer, Olivia Evans, Sydney Johnson, Emily Stauffer, Sydney Oberdiek, Cece Johnson, Jordan McClendon
Pole Vault, Men - Jason Edwards
High Jump, Men – Dajuan Young
High Jump, Women – Arielle Mack, Marissa Jensen, Karissa Roman
Shot Put, Men – Jason Edwards, Devin Roberson, Ethan Hanson, Mitch Weber
Shot Put, Women – Arielle Mack, Jordan Speer, Emily Offenheiser, Emily Stauffer
Triple Jump, Women – Mara Hausler, Euphenie Andre, Arianna Fisher
Triple Jump, Men – Georgi Nachev
Mizzou Entries – Running Events (Starts at 1 p.m. CT, rolling schedule to follow)
600m Run, Men – Cason Suggs
600m Run, Women – Shannon Browning, Faramola Shonekan, Richelle Bain
60m Hurdles, Women – Arianna Butler, Morgan O'Neal, Arielle Mack
60m Hurdles, Men – Chris McKinzy, Jason Edwards, Zachary Charles
60m Dash, Men – Georgi Nachev, Nyles Thomas, Caulin Graves, Nylo Clarke, Ja'Mari Ward
60m Dash, Women – Euphenie Andre, Arianna Fisher, Mara Hausler, Lana Dorsey, Blair Widmer
Mile Run, Women – Abby Hake
200m Dash, Men – Jayson Ashford, Isaiah Haggerty, Jacob Brunsman, Eduardo Favela, Blake Hays, David Buckner, Ja'Mari Ward
4x400m Relay, Men – Jayson Ashford, Nylo Clarke, Caulin Graves, Eduardo Favela | Jacob Brunsman, Blake Hays, Cason Suggs, Zachary Charles
4x400m Relay, Women – Morgan O'Neal, Arianna Butler, Maya Puller